Dr. Ashlea Bennett Milburn

Assistant Professor

I joined the faculty of the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Arkansas in January 2010. Prior to joining the University of Arkansas, I received a Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Georgia Tech. I earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from the University of Arkansas and Virginia Tech, respectively.
My primary areas of teaching and research are in Healthcare Systems Engineering and Transportation Logistics. I enjoy applying operations research tools and techniques to problems arising in the healthcare and logistics industries, and I have the opportunity to teach students how to do the same in my courses.

I conduct research in the areas of healthcare systems engineering (HSE) and transportation logistics (TL). Generally speaking, I adapt and apply operations research (OR) tools and techniques to problems arising in these fields. Example research questions I am actively pursuing in these interfaces include:
HSE/OR/TL interface:How should home health nurses be routed to visit a set of patients in their homes?
HSE/OR interface:How should scarce healthcare resources be allocated, especially those used by the elderly and chronically ill?
TL/OR interface:Where should relief facilities be located to support an affected population after a major disaster?
An accounting of my research activities and awards can be found in my CV.